Hartford, Connecticut - The Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) is pleased to announce that ridership on CTfastrak is showing significant year-over-year growth. According to data provided by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, in November of 2016, on an average weekday, there were 10,573 trips taken on CTfastrak buses. Compared to the November 2015 figure of 9,394 trips, ridership has grown by over 12%.

Regional leaders have cited CTfastrak’s success as contributing to renewed interest in their communities and improved access to jobs. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said: “New Britain has seen an upswing in developer interest, and much of that can be attributed to the success of CTfastrak.” East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc noted that: “Providing expanded CTfastrak service east of the river would provide better access to jobs for East Hartford residents and provide new opportunities for development.”

Ridership in the CTfastrak corridor overall, which includes local buses that do not run on the busway and express buses, also remained strong. Michael Sanders, Transit Administrator for the Connecticut Department of Transportation noted that: “Prior to CTfastrak’s opening in March of 2015, on average an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 trips were taken per day in the corridor. In November, the estimated number of average weekday trips was 18,224 in the corridor. And thirteen times since the first of September the daily passenger count in the corridor exceeded 20,000 daily boardings.”

“The big story”, noted Stewart (Chip) Beckett, Chairman of CRCOG, “is that ridership throughout the corridor is growing. What we are seeing is an increase in overall transit use, not just existing riders shifting over to the new service.” In fact, the ridership data shows that non-CTfastrak buses operating in the corridor also saw an estimated increase in ridership of over 24% from November 2015 to November 2016.

The corridor reached an all-time high of 19,562 average weekday rides in September and has already exceeded initial projections. Lyle Wray, Executive Director of CRCOG noted that: “When you look at the data, you see normal seasonal variation, such as ridership declining in the winter, but overall CTfastrak is continuing to exceed expectations and to encourage more transit use.”

Wray added that: “The continued success of CTfastrak shows that smart investments in high-quality service will attract people to transit. We look forward to seeing CTfastrak ridership continue to grow in the new year.”